Women and Protein: The Truth!

Seeing as today is Valentines day we wanted to drop a little info just for the ladies. Fellas, you can keep your ears open too as this might help you understand your body and it's protein needs a little better!

Shannon Clark holds a degree in Exercise Science and Sport Performance from the University of Alberta in Edmonton and gives us a great break down on just what the big deal is about protein for ladies.

We've all experienced it. After a week of rigorous exercise and dieting—and Tupperware containers full of broccoli, brown rice, and chicken—you feel an uncontrollable urge to stray from your carefully planned meal plan. You measured and weighed all your meals but, alas, you hear ice cream and pasta calling your name. As it turns out, that voice could be especially loud if you're a woman.

According to a study published in the "International Journal of Eating Disorders,"1 women tend to crave sugary snacks like chocolate, ice cream, and donuts. Men, on the other hand, prefer to sink their teeth into a well-marbled porterhouse. Women seem to lack protein in their diets, even when it comes to cheat meals! A lack of protein can be problematic for anyone, but it's especially troubling for women in the gym!

While your body needs carbs and healthy fats for energy, protein is essential for tissue growth and repair. If you're in the gym knocking out tough sets of squats and Romanian deadlifts, a lack of protein in your diet can hinder your body's ability to recover and grow!

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTEIN

The reasons for adding more protein to your diet plan are numerous. Of the 20 amino acids that make up protein, nine are essential. "Essential" means that your body can't manufacture these aminos on its own. The only way they can be consumed is through food. Dietary protein supplies the building blocks of muscle tissue. It also supplies the materials needed for neurotransmitters and hormones.

WOMEN TEND TO CRAVE SUGARY SNACKS LIKE CHOCOLATE, ICE CREAM, AND DONUTS. MEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, PREFER TO SINK THEIR TEETH INTO A WELL-MARBLED PORTERHOUSE.

Each time you hit the gym for a workout, you break your muscle tissues down. You actually build them outside the gym. To do that, however, you need enough fuel. With proper protein intake, amino acids come to the rescue of your damaged muscle, repairing those tissues so they grow back even stronger.

Protein provides other key benefits to the hard-working, fit female.

PROTEIN: STABILIZES YOUR ENERGY LEVELS AND APPETITE

If you're constantly ravenous throughout the day, you're probably not eating enough protein at every meal. Compared to carbohydrates, protein takes longer to break down and digest.

This slow digestion time means you'll stay fuller longer and keep hunger at bay, making it easier to hit your caloric intake and macros for body weight maintenance.

PROTEIN: HELPS YOU BURN CALORIES MORE EFFECTIVELY

IF YOU'RE CONSTANTLY RAVENOUS THROUGHOUT THE DAY, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN AT EVERY MEAL.

Protein has the highest thermic effect of food (TEF), which is the amount of calories it takes your body to process and utilize a nutrient. At 20-35 percent, protein has the highest TEF.

This means that your body actually uses 20-35 percent of the energy from protein consumed just to digest and absorb it!

Out of every 100 calories you get from protein, 25-30 are burned in the digestion process.

Since your body expends more energy to process proteins than it does to digest carbohydrates and fats, people who consume more protein throughout the day might see faster fat-loss results than people on a lower-protein diet plan.

PROTEIN: SAFEGUARDS AGAINST THE LOSS OF MUSCLE

As your caloric intake drops, and carbohydrates and fats become scarce on a strict diet, there's a greater chance that your body will turn to incoming protein for energy. This leaves less protein for various bodily functions.

If insufficient amino acids are present, your body will start breaking down muscle tissue to get individual aminos. For you, this could mean a loss in muscle and a slower resting metabolism. Protect against this by prioritizing protein!

PROTEIN: BOOSTS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Oh, the wonders of whey. If you choose to add whey protein powder to your diet, you'll be taking in more than muscle-building strength gains. You get an immune boost, as well. Whey protein contains glutathione, a tripeptide that helps strengthen immune function.2

2. MYTHS ABOUT PROTEIN

One of the reasons that some women shy away from protein is because they believe the myths. Don't let false rumors cost you gains. Clear up confusion by separating fact from fiction.

MYTH: PROTEIN WILL CAUSE YOU TOO LOOK BULKY

PROTEIN WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER. IT WON'T TURN YOU INTO AN "OVERLY RIPPED" VERSION OF YOURSELF.

Protein will make you stronger. Associate it with powerful, lean muscle gains, not a masculine physique. Choosing chicken over chocolate and hitting the weights hard won't turn you into an "overly ripped" version of yourself. Put your mind at ease and know that this simply won't occur.

Ladies, remember that your body contains just a fraction of the testosterone needed to build up lean muscle tissue. Even with the addition of protein, you're not going to pack on muscle the same way your male counterpart might.

Your body can also only make so much lean muscle per day. Excess protein won't necessarily increase your muscular development. Excess protein gets broken into amino acids to be used as fuel or excreted, so don't worry too much about this myth.

MYTH: A HIGHER-PROTEIN DIET IS HARD ON YOUR KIDNEYS

If you have pre-existing kidney problems, then you definitely want to be a little more careful about adding protein to your diet plan. But, provided you're an active woman in good health, you can safely increase your protein intake.

Just remember that increased protein can be dehydrating, so you'll want to increase your water consumption at the same time.

MYTH: HIGHER-PROTEIN DIETS COMPROMISE BONE HEALTH

There's no definitive proof that high-protein diets cause the excess acid load that's been linked to bone loss and poor health.

In fact, according to the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," studies found that high-protein diets had a small but significant benefit to the lumbar spine.3

3. YOUR ESSENTIAL PROTEIN INTAKE

So, how much protein do you need? The suggested number differs depending on the source.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the standard food guide recommendation for the average individual is set around 46 grams per day for women and 65 grams per day for men.4

Keep in mind, however, that this is the recommendation for the average, semi-sedentary individual. If you're constantly exercising and breaking down lean muscle tissue, your required protein intake needs to increase. Likewise, if you diet and consume fewer calories from carbs and fats, the macros you consume from protein will need to increase.

PEOPLE WHO JUST EXERCISE AND DO NOT DIET SHOULD AIM TO CONSUME SOMEWHERE AROUND 0.8-1 GRAMS OF PROTEIN PER POUND OF BODY WEIGHT DAILY.

People who just exercise and do not diet should aim to consume somewhere around 0.8-1 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily.

If you're dieting and exercising, aim higher—between 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of your body weight per day. As your caloric intake decreases, your protein needs will actually increase, so keep that in mind as you plan out your diet.

Focus on eating high-quality protein sources such as chicken, fish, lean red meat, eggs, low-fat dairy products, and quality whey protein powder.

As always, feel free to stop by and speak with our staff of certified nutrition specialist if you have any questions about how much protein YOUR taking in and if its the right amount for your goals!

Til next time,
Mikie

9 ways to detox naturally in the New Year

Jeff Behar, MS, MBA President at MyBestHealthPortal.net Top Contributorgive us a run down of the best way to detox for the new year that's safe and effective check it out.

It’s the New Year, which means everyone’s talking about “cleansing” and “detoxing” after a bit of holiday binging. But the truth is, your body detoxes just fine on its own: Your liver, lungs, kidneys, skin, and digestive track are programmed by Mother Nature to keep your body clean 24/7.

But you can give your body’s natural detoxing powers a boost with these nine easy tips. 

1. Stay hydrated with water. Water is part of every metabolic process in the body, and adequate water intake also helps keep the balance of body salts normal. Natural thirst should always be addressed. And remember that fruits and vegetables are almost all water, so 5-7 servings can boost your natural water intake. And the best way to tell if your water intake is adequate is to check the color of your urine. Pale yellow is the goal. If it’s any darker than that, drink a glass of water or two.

2. Limit caffeine – but there’s no need to eliminate it. Caffeine can be a boost for mental focus and energy, if limited to less than 300 milligrams per day. A large mug of coffee has about 150 milligrams of caffeine, so that’s about two servings a day. A mug of tea is around 50 milligrams, so that’s about six servings. When it comes to caffeine, the less often it is consumed, the more of a positive biological effect you can expect. 

3. Extra credit: Avoid alcohol -- even red wine. (it.

4. Skip sugar – and low-calorie sweeteners. You want to ground zero your sweet taste buds with more limited intake of sweet of all kinds. Cut out sugary drinks, snacks, and treats, and you’ll be surprised how fruit will satisfy your sweet tooth. And taking a break from all low-calorie sweeteners helps you learn to tamp down your perception of sweetness.

5. Eliminate processed and prepared foods. As a general rule, don’t consume things that come in cans, boxes, bags or jars. Bonus points: Don’t eat in restaurants, either. Many restaurant foods may look healthy, but the food may have been prepared in unhealthy oils, or they may be drenched in a creamy sauce. Cutting out processed foods is the quickest and easiest way to limit excess (and often hidden) sugars, fats, and calories. 

6. Break a sweat. Skin is the body’s largest organ, and sweating helps you eliminate excess body salts and other metabolites of body processes. Breaking a sweat every day is a good way to support your body’s healthy elimination of metabolic breakdown products.

7. Eat fiber. There are so many myths associated with “cleansing” the digestive tract, but your digestive tract actually wants to be stimulated, especially with fiber. Think of this as exercise for your gut. Fiber revs up your digestive tract -- it’s like nature’s Roto-Rooter. But stick to fiber that’s found in nature -- fruits, veggies and whole grains -- and skip the bulked-up processed products that claim to contain 50 percent of your daily fiber needs or more in ONE serving. Stick with nature’s fiber content, which is about 3-4 grams a serving, about 15-20 percent percent of your daily requirement.

8. Get some sleep. Aim for seven to nine hours every night. Adequate sleep supports and maintains a healthy brain. Recent studies continue to support the connection between amount of sleep and cognitive function.

9. Change your response to stress. While eliminating stress is not realistic, changing how your respond to daily stressors goes a long way to boosting a healthy body.

Also, stop by 4x Nutrition Center adn speak with one of our certified nutrition specialist about other way to detox and get your body ready for the new year!

Til next time,

Mikie 

How do you eat clean while traveling? Here's a brief outline with tips to help keep you lean and mean while at the airport, hotel and more.

ON THE PLANE AND IN THE AIRPORT

• Bring an empty Tupperware or shaker cup. Bring ziplocks with pre-measured Whey and a bag of almonds. If your diet calls for carbs, rock some dry oats. Remember, this is a flight, so you need to leave the liquid behind to get through security.
• When it is time to eat, buy some water and you can have either 'sludge' (mix as you would with peanut butter, but with less liquid) and drop the almonds in after to make a pudding-like sludge with your protein. Or, you can simply shake up some whey and eat the almonds.
• If you need carbs, simply add the oats to your shake. Boom! You just got served a knowledge bomb of chocolaty goodness!

  RESTAURANTS

  
  • Order meat and veggies and if you need carbs, order a dry sweet potato, baked potato, or even rice.
  • For veggies, be sure to ask for them "steamed with no butter".
  • Ask for your meat to be cooked dry with no oil or butter.
  • Ask for your eggs to be cooked in spray and not in butter.
  • Reiterate "no sauce" on anything!
  • Have fun and plan ahead! For example, we found that the Chicken Fajita Omelet with no cheese and no sour cream with Harvest Grain and Nut Pancakes with no butter and sugar-free syrup from IHOP, fit my macros perfectly and is a darn clean meal!
  • Denny's! This place will grill plain chicken and eggs at a great price.
  • At steakhouses: always opt for lean sirloin and fillet. Remember the "no butter" rule!

  HOTEL ROOM

  • If you have a microwave, rock a brownie!
  • Sludge is still your friend. Unless going out, sludge it up, or make shakes. A 2lb container of Choice Whey takes up very little space in a carry-on or backpack!
  • Buy peanut butter and all goods when you get in town. Blueberries will keep unrefrigerated for quite a while.
  • To make oatmeal in your room, use the in-room coffee pot and make hot water. Pour over oats and BAM, SLAM, Thank you MA'AM! You got oatmeal.

  IN THE CAR

  • Protein shakes and almonds while you drive. All you need to know... follow restaurant rules when you eat out.

Have a Happy Paleo Christmas Dinner

With next the big feast of Christmas Dinner right around the corner we teamed up with our friends from Champion Naturals to bring you a few ways to keep your Christmas dinner healthy with these Paleo twist!

The Paleolithic diet (abbreviated “Paleo” for short) is a relatively simple concept. Proponents of this diet maintain that human physiology hasn't changed much since the days of our early ancestors, right before the dawn of the agrarian age.

 The idea is that eating the foods that we were able to hunt, gather or otherwise scrounge during our days as hunter-gatherers will help us avoid many of the diseases and other downsides to our modern age of largess, plenty and over-indulgence. While the science upon which the evolutionary assumptions used to develop the Paleo diet are contentious and somewhat flawed, the general idea is pretty sound.

Paleo Diet Main Ideas:

• Avoid processed meats and (where possible), consume only grass-fed or truly wild game
• Choose roots, seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables over processed grains, legumes or potatoes
• Avoid dairy products and processed oils

That’s because (especially in the west) our diets are packed with unhealthy fats, processed meats, and hormone-fed livestock, pesticides and genetically altered grains – not all of which can be benign. So in addition to getting a healthy bout of winter exercise with your Thanksgiving dinner, try the following suggestions to serve a more healthy meal!

Turkey instead of Ham

In this case, the traditional dish has it right. With very few exceptions, ham (though delicious) is packed with extra salts and preservatives. It’s also way less healthy than a nice, roasted turkey – and that’s roasted, not fried. Nice try.

Note: while there are overlaps with “raw” food diets and Paleo, most proponents of Paleo eating are okay with cooking your food. To take full advantage of this, surround your turkey with diced vegetables; the more the merrier!

Stuffing the Paleo Way

Stuffing is traditionally made with bread. Bread is traditionally made with flour, and flour is traditionally made from grains. This makes it a no-no when it comes to Paleo. But what’s Christmas without stuffing?

Probably possible, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Here’s a recipe from www.agirlworthsaving.net on how to make a cornbread stuffing … without the bread (hint – use coconut flour instead of regular flour).

Alternatively, skip the stuffing and go straight for the Sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes However You Like Them

Some people might stop right here and wonder whether or not Sweet potatoes are on the Paleo menu. Personally, we think they should be – as they’re most definitely a root. In fact, if you really wanted to get down to brass tacks, all potatoes are Paleo in that they’re also roots. However, the cultivation of white potatoes as well as the difference in nutritional value (and a few other issues) makes them imperfect when it comes to the Paleo diet.

You’re welcome to do your own research regarding Sweet Potatoes and other types of potato in general. But for us, the risks outweigh the benefits. If you’re still on the fence, ask any weightlifter about sweet potatoes. They’re more than likely to tell you that they’re an excellent source of healthy carbs and many other nutrients – unlike the nearly-empty carbohydrates you’ll get from the regular old “Idaho” variety.

To stick with the general idea, though avoid things like sweet potato casserole and just bake or roast your potatoes. Roasted, mix them in with a big pan of baby carrots and diced onions. Delicious!

Green Beans, Squash & Raw Veggies

Another great form of Paleo nutrition and protein, Green Beans are especially easy to prepare if you don’t lump them into an unhealthy casserole. (Author’s note: Green Bean Casserole is delicious) Another great side to add color to your Paleo table is green and yellow squash. Just slice and cover in a microwave-safe bowl with a little black pepper on top.

As far as raw veggies go, you can always start with a bowl of salad before the main course and during the meal, put out a plate of raw, sliced tomatoes. Depending on how strict you’re being (if you’ve a large gathering, I don’t recommend forcing others to conform to your dietary quirks) you can add a little salt and pepper to your ‘maters – like my grandfather used to!

The other good news: Cranberries can be made into natural, Paleo or nearly-raw recipes, but there’s a whole lot of prep-time involved. You’re better off just opting for the “natural” cranberry sauce from your local natural foods store (and have a bowl of the can-shaped stuff ready for the kiddies).

Dessert

“Diet” and “Dessert” start with the same letter, but that’s about it. Mostly, this is because of the sugar. Some proponents of Paleo diets consider chocolate to be a Paleo-friendly food, others don’t. You can serve sliced dark chocolate, but that’s going to leave some of your guests feeling peckish.

For the truly serious and/or adventurous, offer sliced apples or pomegranates – they’re unbelievably nutritious and help with digestion as well. Or, alternatively, you can just ask other people to bring the dessert – after all, it’s not cheating if you didn’t make it yourself, right?

Have a Merry Christmas from all of us here at 4X Nutrition and Champion Naturals!

Til Next time,

Mikie

Does Your Nutrition Plan Need a Tune-Up?

So you've been in the gym for a few weeks now and you feel like your killing your self then you step on the scale and see nothing moving. SO maybe your nutrition needs a tune up! Just like your vehicle requires regular tune-ups to keep it performing at its best, your nutrition plan needs regular tune-ups to make sure you’re getting essential nutrients and performing at YOUR best.

Your body requires the right kinds of nutrients to keep it running in tip-top condition.

Nutrition equals life. All living things, including you, need food and water to live. Beyond that, you need good food, meaning food with the proper nutrition, to live well. We can also agree that your body needs food and water to perform essential bodily functions – digestion and elimination for example. Without food and water, your body begins to breakdown. It’s just as important to feed your body the right kinds of nutrients as it is to put the right kind of gasoline in your car. Too much sugar in your car’s gas tank…car sputters. Too much sugar in your own tank can also have adverse effects and most notably, weight gain. The more calories and processed foods we eat the more your body suffers and begins to perform poorly. Nutrition is about why you eat what you eat and how the food you get affects your body and your health.

What is your nutritional status? That means, what is your state of health as it relates to your diet? Ask yourself, “taking into account my current eating habits, how do I feel on a daily basis”? Do you feel good, bad, lethargic? Need more energy? We’re now 3 weeks into 2014 making it a perfect time to re-evaluate your nutrition plan to determine if you’re on track to accomplishing your weight (loss or gain) and fitness goals. Your nutrition plan should include: Proteins (fish, egg whites, skinless chicken breast, lean cuts of beef) to help build and repair tissues, Healthy Fats (avocados, olive oil, unsalted nuts) to help protect internal organs, Carbohydrates (whole wheat pasta, brown rice, beans, oatmeal) to provide energy for your body and Fiber-Rich Fruits and Vegetables to provide powerful antioxidants. Don’t forget your Water – the most important nutrient!

Remember, eating a small meal every 2-3 hours and not missing breakfast is the key to keeping your metabolism fired up and your body energized. If you wait too long between meals, you cause your metabolism to slow down in order to compensate for the perceived state of starvation and you’re left feeling sluggish.

Is your nutrition plan missing anything? Does it include too much of one thing and not enough of another? Feel like you’re not making any progress? Well then, perhaps it’s time for a nutrition plan tune-up.

This is just some information to help guide you. If you want more detailed information or have any questions, be sure to ask one of the Certified Nutrition Specialists the next time you stop by 4X Nutrition.

-Till next time!
-Mikie